Montana

Only a licensed Medical Doctor (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) licensed to practice in Montana under MCA Title 37, Chapter 3 may complete a Physician Statement for a qualifying patient.

The certifying physician must be either:

• The patient's treating physician, with the patient under the physician's ongoing medical care as part of a bona fide professional relationship; or
• The patient's referral physician, having assumed primary responsibility for management and routine care of the patient's debilitating medical condition after obtaining a comprehensive medical history and conducting a physical examination, including a personal review of any medical records maintained by other physicians.

Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other non-physician providers may not certify patients for the Montana Medical Marijuana Program.

Montana does not require physicians to register separately with the Cannabis and Alcohol Regulation Division before certifying patients. The division does not maintain a list of specific physicians participating in the program. To certify a patient, complete the Physician Statement for a Debilitating Medical Condition and provide it to the patient for submission with their application through the TransAction Portal (TAP).

For more information, visit Physician Forms & Additional Resources

• A central nervous system disorder resulting in chronic, painful spasticity or muscle spasms
• Cancer
• Glaucoma
• HIV/AIDS
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Crohn's disease
• Cachexia or wasting syndrome
• Severe or chronic pain
• Severe nausea
• Seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy
• Terminal illness with a life expectancy of less than 12 months
• Admittance to hospice care
• Any other condition approved by the Cannabis Control Division

Montana physicians may only certify patients for conditions on this approved list.

Certifying Patients

Medical professionals have a legal right to recommend cannabis as a treatment in any state, as protected by the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (Title III section 301) which became law on December 2, 2022, and the First Amendment (established by a 2004 United States Supreme Court decision to uphold earlier federal court rulings that doctors, and their patients have a fundamental Constitutional right to freely discuss treatment options).

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